Secrets of Closing the Sale

by Zig Ziglar

Remember: People believe more of what they see than what they hear.

Your presentation to them is similar to the following: “Hi, ____________. How is everything going with your ____________?” (If they have a problem, assure them you will get the problem remedied and do so. If all is well, which it will be about 90 percent of the time, then proceed.) “I’m calling [or I’m here] to ask you an important question and a favor which could help me immensely in my selling career, without my asking you to buy a thing. Is that fair enough?” Smile and pause. (The response is usually positive or encouraging.) “Remember when you told me a few weeks ago how pleased you were with our company [service or me]?” Wait for a response. “Well, believe it or not, we still have a lot of nonbelievers out there. It would mean a lot to me if you would share those feelings in a letter on one of your letterheads, at your convenience, and send it to me. Would you do that for me?” About 90 percent will say yes. About half of them will do it. Don’t ask them again.

let’s take a look at the sales professional. First of all, he clearly understands that logic makes people think, but it is emotion that makes them act. He knows if he uses all logic in a sales presentation, chances are excellent he will end up with the best-educated prospect in town who will buy from someone else. If he uses all emotion in a sales presentation, chances are excellent he will make the sale but, unfortunately, chances are also good the prospect will cancel the order. However, he knows that when he uses emotion and logic in the presentation, chances are excellent he will end up with a sale today and a happy customer for the future.

The revelation was that ability to sell is not what separates the moderate performer from the high performer. The other factors—trust, relationships, etc.—were the key. The high-performing sales professionals are total, well-balanced people with integrity who are knowledgeable and aggressively caring in their creative approach to solving problems.

He understands one universal rule in the world of selling and applies it with diligence and enthusiasm. That rule is his absolute conviction that he needs to find out what the prospect wants and then help him get it.

He also clearly understands that if you hear something, you will forget it; if you see it, you will remember it; but if you hear it, see it, and do it, you will understand and be far more inclined to take action.

Joe Girard, who with Stanley H. Brown wrote the best-selling book How to Sell Anything to Anybody.

There are many reasons for such phenomenal sales success, but one of them is the fact that once a month Joe dropped a card in the mail to every one of his customers. Obvious ones like Christmas, Easter, birthday, and anniversary; and not-so-obvious ones like Happy Fourth of July, Labor Day, or Washington’s or Lincoln’s Birthday. With cards coming all the time his customers consider Joe a member of the family, or at least an old friend. That’s the way a real professional does things.

The “Abraham Lincoln” Close Please notice that throughout this entire presentation Chuck Bellows never once said anything derogatory or negative about my automobile. He used the Abraham Lincoln approach. Lincoln used to argue both sides of the case when he was presenting it to the jury. He would take the opposition’s side, then he would take his client’s side. He was very careful to bring out more points in his own favor, but when he took the opposition’s side he was always fair, although he was undoubtedly not quite as eloquent as when he presented his client’s case.

What do you say when your prospect makes a negative statement about a previous purchase? Try this: Look your prospect in the eye and quietly say, “In retrospect, Mr. Prospect, I’m confident that most of us would make some of our decisions differently if we could make them again. However, at the time you made this decision, under the circumstances which existed at that moment and with the information you had at your disposal, I’m confident that most of us would have made the same decision you did, so I wouldn’t feel bad about something which happened such a long time ago.” The best way to get a prospect to make a favorable new decision is to make him happy with an old decision.

In the customer’s mind she had bought and I had not sold. Ideally, that’s the way every prospect should feel at the end of the transaction.

She used warm selling words as she discussed her program with her prospects. Words like rich, loving, good taste, gracious, comfort, security, investment, caring, and many other positive words were a part of her, so they were a natural part of her vocabulary.

Fortunately for Billie and the customer, many of them didn’t realize they couldn’t have the biggest and the best, so they went ahead and bought the “impossible” dream order. As a pro, Billie challenged her customers to “go for the gold,” to strive for the best, to reach their “impossible” dream, and the prospects responded. It’s a fact: Customer performance is often tied directly to the salesperson’s expectancy. Billie’s expectancy was always high.

It got awfully quiet for a few seconds; then he asked me a question which I think is one of the most significant questions I’ve ever been asked. It revealed a great deal about human nature and had an impact on my thinking as a salesman. Question: “Mr. Ziglar, what would I tell my neighbors?” Now please understand that of all the people in our country, the most independent of the independent are the farmers. This particular farmer certainly fit that role. Additionally, he was a “big man” in the community. He was a wealthy and respected member of the school board, and yet he was asking, “What would I tell my neighbors?” Get Him Out of the Corner Why was he asking it? Very simple. When he was invited to the demonstration, he had told the hostess, “I’ll go, but I’m not about to buy any four-hundred-dollar set of pots!” He was late for the demonstration, and when he made his entrance one of his neighbors kidded him by saying, “Well, I see you’ve come to buy yourself a set of pots.” To this he had loudly (I heard him from back in the kitchen) proclaimed, “I’ve come to eat the man’s food! I’m not about to buy any four-hundred-dollar set of pots!” Everybody there heard him, so he had literally painted himself into a corner. At this point, having seen the demonstration the night before and the financial presentation today, he is sold on the cookware. He wants to buy and he certainly has the money, but before he will buy I’ve got to get him out of that corner so he doesn’t lose face...

Point: People don’t buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons.

One more time: I’m convinced that many sales are lost or missed simply because the salesperson doesn’t ask the prospect to buy.

Perhaps the most imaginative business card I have ever seen is that of Gerhard Gschwandtner, the dynamic publisher of Personal Selling Power, which I also highly recommend.

twenty-four words that sell and twenty-four words that “unsell.”

The first word that sells is your prospect’s name. I think everyone recognizes this as being true. His name is the sweetest sound of them all. You should use it from time to time throughout your presentation. Here are the other twenty-three. understand money right deserve proven safety results happy health save truth trust easy new comfort value guarantee love proud fun discovery profit vital Note: Yale University has added five words to Thom’s twenty-four selling words: YOU, SECURITY, ADVANTAGE, POSITIVE, and BENEFITS.

Thom also has researched and come up with twenty-four words that “unsell,” and here they are: deal lose sold obligation cost hurt price liable pay buy decision fail contract death hard liability sign bad difficult failure try sell worry loss I encourage you to give these words the same dictionary treatment.

In Dr. Fails’s case, the preparation (dragging the wallet behind his car and calling on the five stores) for the sales call on the Chamber official took ten times as long as the actual call. This supports Abraham Lincoln’s statement, “If I had nine hours to cut down a tree, I would spend six hours sharpening my axe.” Selling is not easy, but proper preparation makes it easier and far more rewarding.

When you train in the art of professional closing in relationship to the time a professional football team prepares for Sunday or a boxer prepares for a match (not to mention the championship), you’ll begin to realize a tremendous jump in your closing ratio on the regular calls and a good boost in the close ones—which most people in sales have always missed.

Throughout the book the picture painted is that of satisfaction and gratification. The reason is simple. You don’t sell what the product is— you always sell what the product does.

The Nuts and Bolts of Selling

To demonstrate the question-asking technique and give you specific questions to use under sales circumstances.

I also believe that some salesmen can be so persuasive and charming they can “hypnotize” their prospects into buying products, goods, or services which are not needed or are grossly overpriced. However, no salesman is so hypnotic in his presentation that he can keep the prospect hypnotized and feeling good about the purchase until the product is delivered and paid for.

With this in mind, I’m convinced high-pressure or overpriced sales are easily the two worst things which can happen to a sales career.

To repeat myself, the best time to deal with an objection is before it occurs. As a general rule, most of the same objections are occurring after each of your presentations. If this is the case, you need to make a recording of your presentation (covered in chapter 5) so you can carefully analyze the points you are covering and the manner in which you are covering them. Chances are at least ten to one you will discover you are pretty “wordy” and are missing some key points. You are probably elaborating too much on the points which interest you but which might not be of particular interest to the prospect.

Objections Are Consistent— Objectors Aren’t

There are two things you really need to know about all of them. Number one, according to sales trainer Thom Norman, they all want to be right and they want to be understood. The second thing you need to understand is that, as the late Charles Roth would say, at the point of purchase all of them are afraid they’re going to make a mistake, particularly if a significant amount of money is involved, and as a result, actually they are “not quite normal.”

I also ask you to remember that you are not a lecturer when you are dealing with the prospect.

He Can’t Decide—on Anything Then there’s “Indecisive Ivan,” who wanted to start a procrastinators’ club but decided to wait until later. Ivan simply cannot make a decision. He’s somewhat like the fellow who went to the psychiatrist and the psychiatrist said to him, “I understand you have trouble making decisions.” The fellow responded, “Well, yes—and no.” The indecisive prospect is the kind of person who is in many ways the unhappiest of all people. He can’t decide what to have for lunch, much less decide on a major purchase such as a home, a car, a major investment, or a life insurance program. He takes a pep pill to get charged up to do something, then mixes it with Valium so if nothing happens it won’t bother him. The way to deal with him is to win his confidence, which you do, as I’ve repeatedly said, by being the right kind of person. Demonstrate considerable empathy; move to his side of the table; let him know you’re on his side; reassure him that, yes, he is making the right move. Your own conviction and belief that your product is what he should buy will be the determining factor. Remember, he’s having trouble deciding if he should buy. If you have any doubts that you should sell, you can rest assured that he won’t buy. Push him—be firm but not harsh. Inner pressure is a key factor. You apply this by asking even more questions than you normally would. Later in this segment of Secrets of Closing the Sale, I will demonstrate in considerable detail exactly how you ask...

The “I’m in a Hurry” Prospect To this list add “Heloise Hurry-up,” the prospect who doesn’t want to be bothered with the details. She wants the “facts, just the facts, I’ve got things to do, I’m in a hurry!” Many times these people really are more interested in saving time than they are in saving dollars. Be brief; be to the point; be businesslike; close the sale as quickly as you can; assure her that you’ll handle the details, you’ll take care of the delivery, you’ll personally see to it she gets exactly what she wants; then make absolutely certain you follow through.

The Know-It-All Prospect “Nora Know-It-All” is out to impress you, so let her. You’ve certainly got nothing to lose. One word of caution: She might want to bend your ear all day, so be aware of the time factor. You might let her impress you by paying cash for the order and, in fact, a challenge to do so could be the key in getting the order. The same basic approach should be used with “Bobby Big Shot.” He wants to feel important, so by all means, make him feel important. He wants to be on center stage, so let the spotlight shine on him. By the same token, he likes to know he is not dealing with “one of the boys,” but rather someone who is qualified to handle his account. If you’ve set a few sales records or if you have accomplished something significant, work it in in a nonthreatening way so Mr. Big will know he’s dealing with someone who is qualified to handle such an important person.

After a strong complaint say, “Mr. Prospect, would you repeat exactly what happened so I can be certain I understand the situation and we can solve the problem?”

When the prospect asks the price before you have had an opportunity to establish value or explain benefit, you could also handle it this way: Look at him, smile, and say, “That’s the part you’re going to be delighted with. I’m pleased that you are already interested enough to inquire about the price. I’ll get to it in just a moment.” Then I would move along into the presentation itself.

Let me emphasize that some prospects by nature are short on patience, and if they demand an answer in another minute or two, you could take this approach: “Mr. Prospect, I appreciate your concern, and please know that I am not evading the issue. However, until we determine, as a result of our discussion, what your needs are, it would be impossible for me to give you a figure. My answer at this point might be too high or it might be too low. If it’s too high, you might lose interest. If it’s too low, then when I give you the true figure you would be disappointed.”

Rephrase and Soften the Objection Many times an objection can be softened a great deal by rephrasing it. For example, the prospect might say, “The quality of your product certainly leaves a lot to be desired. I don’t believe it would last three weeks, much less the three years your warranty covers!” Pretty strong— but it can be largely neutralized or defused by rephrasing it. You do this by lowering your voice, looking directly at your prospect, and saying, “If I understand you correctly, you want to be certain the product has lasting quality and you’re going to get dollar value for every dollar you invest. Is that your question, Mr. Prospect?” Or you could shorten it and say, “So your question is _____. Is that right?”

When the prospect brings up any objection and you don’t really know why he brings it up, instead of guessing, you should ask, as sales trainer Lee DuBois suggests: “Obviously, Mr. Prospect, you have some good reason for saying that [or “feeling this way”]. Do you mind if I ask what it is?” (Stop—and wait for his answer.)

There are a couple of ways you can effectively handle the “think about it” stall. First, you can smile and say, “That’s great! I’m delighted you want to think about it, because obviously you would not waste your time thinking about our offer if you were not interested. Therefore, I assume you want to think about it to help reduce the chances of error whether your decision is yes or no. Is that a valid assumption, Mr. Prospect? [Get an answer.] Would you agree that the length of time you think about something is not the important point? If I’m reading you right [I use this phrase a lot] and I think I am, your prime objective is to be as certain as possible that you make the right decision, regardless of whether you think about it two minutes or two days. The right decision for you is what you’re seeking, isn’t it, Mr. Prospect? “Businesspeople and efficiency experts agree that the best time to make accurate decisions is when you have the necessary facts which are unclouded with other issues of the day. This way you can be more certain your thought process is aimed at making the correct decision, based on factual information which is fresh in your mind. Forgotten facts or confused information will almost always lead to a faulty decision. With this in mind, could we think together for a minute to make certain you arrive at the right decision, which is what you want, isn’t it, Mr. Prospect?” (Wait for answer.)

The “Four Question” Close “Actually, there are only four questions you need to answer in your own mind and you’ve already voted yes on three of them. [Pause after each of these questions.] Do you like it? Do you want it? Can you afford it? The only remaining decision is: When do you want to start enjoying the benefits? Obviously, you are the only one who can answer that question, but, Mr. Prospect, may I ask you another question? [Pause.] The price will remain constant or possibly increase. Since benefits and enjoyment can start only when you acquire the product, your only decision boils down to when you want to enjoy the benefits, doesn’t it, Mr. Prospect? [Pause.] With this in mind, doesn’t it make sense to vote yes for now benefits?”

Suppose the prospect brings up a question or objection which you cannot answer. You respond this way: “That’s obviously an important question, Mr. Prospect, or you wouldn’t have brought it up at this point in the interview. I commend you on your insight, but since no one else has ever raised the question, I don’t have the complete answer. Since it is important to you, and quite frankly, to me as well, I’d rather personally get the information from our support personnel at the home office to make certain it is completely accurate. If that’s satisfactory, I’ll get back to you the first of the week.” Incidentally, you never say, “Do you understand what I’m saying?” Instead you ask, “Have I made myself clear?” or “Have I clarified this point to your satisfaction?”

Incidentally, “Is that fair enough?” “Does that make sense?” and “Is that all right?” are three of the strongest trial closing questions.

“The third question, Mr. Prospect, had to do with the guarantee which we offer. Let me start by saying that any guarantee is only as good as the company which offers that guarantee. As I have already demonstrated, we do represent a viable, solid business establishment. One thing I emphasize, Mr. Prospect, is that unless the guarantee is fair to both buyer and seller, it has no value. If we, as a company, couldn’t live with it, we would be out of business. Then, regardless of how extensive the guarantee might be, it would have no value. Our guarantee protects you from virtually everything but human error and carelessness, as well as abuse of the product. Our product, as I have demonstrated, is built for use but not abuse. We protect you from all manufacturing defects as well as normal use. I believe, Mr. Prospect, that’s your major concern, isn’t it?”

When you have covered all three of the objections, you look at the prospect and say, “You know, Mr. Prospect, I wish everyone I deal with was as concise with their questions as you are, because if a person knows his own feelings, it makes it easier and more fun to demonstrate our products. I know that you are going to love this product!” With a big smile you extend your hand as you assume the sale.

Play It Cool—Use a Safety Valve Occasionally a prospect will make a dogmatic statement which necessitates a built-in safety valve. For example, your prospect might say, “I wouldn’t do business with that outfit you represent in a hundred years!” He’s dogmatic, even a little vehement in his statement. Your “safety valve” procedure is simple and effective. Lower your voice, look him in the eye, and say, “Mr. Prospect, it’s obvious you feel quite strongly about this issue, so you must have an excellent reason for feeling as you do. Would you mind sharing with me why you feel this way?”

Remember—Prospect Buys Future Enjoyment To tie these things down, just remember the prospect does not buy what it is, he buys the future enjoyment of what you’re selling, regardless of the product.

Note: At this point you should put Secrets aside, pick up your notepad (discussed on page 13), and write down the reasons and the excuses you can give the prospect for investing in your goods, products, or services.

As I say, give a person a reason for buying and he might buy. Give him an excuse for buying and he might buy. Give him a reason and an excuse for buying, then make it easy for him to buy, and chances are substantially increased he will buy.

Using Questions to Close the Sale Question: How do you persuade people to take action? Answer: You persuade by asking questions which lead the prospect to a conclusion which demands that he take action because it becomes an idea which he (the prospect) originated. This is pressure which the prospect puts on himself. It’s internal pressure and it’s powerful.